Pages

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

This month's shoe post has been pretty late - mainly because I bought two pairs of gorgeous shoes. My big mistake however was that I bought two SEEMINGLY gorgeous shoes from a really cheap store.

Did I mention 'BIG' mistake?!

Both shoes that I bought have already broken. What a waste of money.

So... as Autumn is in full gear now and winter is looming closer - I thought why not actually go to a REAL store and buy some boots that will get me through not one month, but perhaps actually a few winters and years!?

So without further ado...

I love them. They are snug and warm - comfortable.. padded on the inside, good quality and an amazing brown color. I love the buckles and zips - they're just great.

It is more than I would EVER spend on a pair of shoes to be honest - a whopping R 650.00. But, that being said, it is so worth it. They aren't going to fall apart like my last two did. I think rather saving your cash and spending it on something of better quality is the right way to go. Goodbye cheap shitty stores. I will not miss you.

I'm really not usually the type to buy nice shoes or spend heaps of money on glam clothing etc. I'm a traveler.... a bit of a hippy... so what's the point, right?? Well... every once in a while, spoiling yourself is nice. There's no doubt about it.

I've worn my new shoes nonstop for the last few days.

Here is what I wore them with this morning:

I paired my new boots with some jeggings (leggings that look like jeans.. yes I love them), a creamy sequenced vest and my peach blazer that I bought in Amsterdam last year. Oh, I'm also rocking a darker hairstyle and I've snipped my fringe. Hey, it's my birthday soon.... spoils ahoy!

These shots were taken just before I left for work. My nephew has been coming to visit all week long because of all the holidays here in South Africa. So every morning before I drive my little blue Micra along the lagoon road to the gallery - I get to steal some of his gurgles and smiles. Blessed!!!

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Released in 2012, I realize that this is a fairly old film to be reviewing - but I just couldn't help it. It blew me away when I watched it about a year ago and I always wanted to do a review on it. A few nights ago, I watched it again for the second time and it was even better than I remembered it to be!

"Oh it's an Oliver Stone movie - it's bound to be good." - This is what my mum said as we started watching this movie.

It is a fantastic combination romance, love and lust with sex, blood and guns to keep both females and males equally as entertained.

The film is narrated by O (Blake Lively), the opening line being:

"Just 'cause I'm telling you this story doesn't mean that I'm alive at the end of it."

'O' finds herself in a love triangle with two best friends, both know and accept that she is, for lack of better words, shagging (and in love) with them both. The two guys also happen to be extremely successful growers of cannabis originating from Afghanistan seeds but they have decided that they have had enough of the business and want out.

Enter the drug-lords (and Cleopatra lookalike Salma Hayek). They are not happy about their decision and demand three years of their service before opting out of the cannabis business - but when they refuse, they kidnap O in the hope of changing their minds. They threaten to keep her away for a year, until they prove their loyalty to them.This is where DEA agent (John Travolta) steps in and they fight for O's freedom.

This is nothing short of gory, graphic and truly fantastic! There are no care-bears and rainbows in this movie - it is shot beautifully and doesn't fail to portray every scene and moment to the fullest... for example, at one point someone is getting whipped until their eye is literally hanging out of the socket!!! Gruesome!!!!

This is by far one of the best films that I have ever seen - no exaggeration.

May I just add here just how completely and utterly in love I fell with this man:

Friday, April 25, 2014

"He took one last long look at her before walking away and
disappearing into the night. At that moment, Mandy knew her life would
change forever . . .

Mandy Sanderson is turning
thirty and has everything going for her – dark ebony hair, flashing
black eyes, flawless skin and a job she loves – yet, so far, true love
has eluded her. Then, on the night of her birthday party, surrounded by
friends she adores, Cupid strikes as Mandy and the gorgeous Jake Chaplin
lock eyes across the restaurant and fall for one another in an instant.

Jake is confident, successful, oozing with sex appeal and utterly
irresistible. He is also married, with two children, and Mandy has
always sworn not to break her own golden rule: never encourage a man to
play away. Jake is used to getting what he wants, and this time it is
Mandy he’s determined to win, and with Jake, seduction comes in more
ways than one."

I couldn't believe how much criticism this book received. Generally, celebs create their own sickly sweet perfume or release some deafening pop song to gain more exposure. Martine McCutcheon, the much loved actress from Love Actually, decided to write a book.

The book follows Mandy Sanderson as she enters her thirties. She goes out for a glamorous birthday meal in London with her closest friends where she meets Jake Chaplin, a successful and gorgeous business man with one slight complication... he has a ring on his finger - and two children.

The two know how wrong it is to be entering into this sinful relationship but the love and lust they share for one another is too difficult to ignore.

This is their love story - steamy, heart-wrenching and simply delectable.

You couldn't imagine the ending that Martine McCutcheon gave this story - it is completely unexpected and knocks you off balance a little. I wasn't sure whether to be happy, disappointed or just completely and utterly confused. Perhaps I was all three at once. The ending felt rushed and cut short - I wished that she had elaborated on the path and life that the key character (Mandy,) decided to choose.

It is an easy book to get lost in - enjoyed best while on holiday or killing time at the airport, which lets face it, I seem to be doing a lot of these days.

It was really hard for me to pick this book up - let alone finish it. Being in love and involved with a married man (unknowingly) is (unfortunately) something very close to home for me. I chose to read this book because of the book that I am busy writing with a similar storyline, minus the children and glam London lifestyle. Although my book is fiction - it is built on the bones of my experience with a man I deeply loved and who I shared some absolutely beautiful moments with - but whom I lost... whom I never really had to begin with.... and that, my friends, was the hard part to accept. Cue that beautiful and sad melodic song posted in my previous post to best define just how I feel:

Both Martine McCutcheon's story and my own just goes to show that sometimes the people (call them what you like: mistresses, seducers, home-wreckers..) that you are led to judge and hate are often the ones that were not in the wrong. Many times, our stories need to be belted out to the world.

Empowerment of those who have been burned and rubbed the wrong way.
This is by all means a fabulous read for anyone who has ever felt that way.

It has taken me a long time to be able to finally start writing my new book again but now I am finally ready and I am absolutely loving it. I'm sure you'll all hear about it soon - but for now it is still being created and my first book, Walk With Me, is selling like crazy.

All of that is my explanation as to why I have been quieter than usual lately. I have been reading and writing my absolute bloody heart out (pardon the pun) - as well as cramming in the odd airplane ride and spontaneous trip around South Africa to keep my travel junkie soul entertained.

Loving life in the bubble of words, pages, ink and literature that I have wrapped myself in!

Thursday, April 24, 2014

It isn't often that I find a song that makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time - that has an incredible music video to accompany it.

It is just perfect.

I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.

This song just breathes heartbreak and passion.

It is a song that will always resonate in my heart and one that will always bring back memories even though I don't have any with the song, if that makes sense.... I relate to it. I remember the feelings felt when my heart was broken - when I was in love.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Her is a unique and soulful, quirky and creative film; thriving on the idea of
social technology - all swirled into melancholy and burning with a
futuristic edge.

The fabulous part about this film is that as far-fetched as it may be, it is completely believable and not over-played. The romance is raw and real - one that you could relate to.

It just goes to show that you can find love in the most unexpected places - no matter how wrong or unrealistic it may seem.

The film is based on a lonely divorced writer, Theodore (played by Joaquin Phoenix) who falls in love with his OS1 (the worlds first artificially intelligent operating system).

Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) quickly develops her own personality and consciousness as she chats with Theodore. Theodore's connection with her escalates as the two enter a rare romantic relationship.

I don't really think that it is a film that I would watch again. Although I loved the concept and the acting by Joaquin Phoenix in particular was fantastic - I think that once is enough. The humor is dry and rough - on a whole though, a truly magical, touching story-line filled with wit.

I unfortunately made the God awful mistake of watching this film with my
parents... watching a movie with erotic, violent and somewhat sadistic phone sex whilst in the company of your
folks is pretty nauseating to say the least. I have a feeling that it would have been more enjoyable if watched in the company of friends - not family.

I would definitely recommend this film to someone who enjoys a good indie flick with an odd romantic edge.

Monday, April 14, 2014

I know that writing a post like this could cause quite a bit of havoc or unsettlement - but something happened to me last night that was honestly too freaky to not share with you all.

I was sitting on my bedroom floor upstairs, having just gotten out of the bath. The house was quiet and the clock had just struck 19h30 so it was dark out.

As I sat on the floor typing a message to someone on my phone, I heard a voice whisper my name. It wasn't close to my ear, but it was in the room. It was a male voice, not necessarily threatening, almost just wanting to let me know that it was there? It was nothing more than a gentle whisper - but it was enough to make all of the blood drain from my face and dart down the stairs so fast that I almost tripped. It petrified me.

I am not one to believe in that sort of nonesense and I have never had any sort of experience with the 'spirit world,' but many in my family have. I always thought if I carried on saying that I didn't believe in it that it would block it out... I always loved a good horror film or listening to other peoples ghostly encounters but that didn't mean that I really believed them.

I am in two minds about what I heard last night. At one end, I know without a shadow of a doubt that I heard a male voice whisper my name. On the other, I'd still like to say that I don't believe in that sort of stuff!

The weird thing is this....

My dad has a number of illnesses. He is the sort of person that, like me, doesn't believe in that sort of thing.

When we moved into the house we are in now, our dog would often just start snarling and barking and literally freaking out at nothing. She'd see something that we didn't.

Suddenly, my dad said that he saw a man in the house. A ghost.

It was when my dad weighed a shocking 49kg's and was given just a number of days to live. He said that the ghost had died of my dads disease and basically warned him to start living differently or he would die of the disease too.

I KNOW how crazy that sounds - and coming from my dad, even more so!

Yet, last night when I told them about it they could see how much it had spooked me and they did their best to calm me down. My dad mentioned that 'the man' had saved his life (in his eyes anyway...) and therefore he wasn't a 'bad' spirit.

Either which way I refused to go back upstairs - I mean, it was my first ever encounter with something like this and it literally nearly gave me a heartattack. My heart was thundering in my chest.
My mum has also both seen and heard this spirit in the house on a number of occasions - it has left me feeling extremely uncomfortable in the house.

Have you ever had an encounter with the supernatural?? What was your experience? If not - then what are your thoughts on the subject?

Friday, April 11, 2014

From one of the world's best loved storytellers, Paulo Coelho, comes a
riveting novel tracing the mysterious life and disappearance of Athena
dubbed 'the Witch of Portobello', which was a top ten Sunday Times
bestseller in hardback. This is the story of Athena, or Sherine, to
give her the name she was baptised with. Her life is pieced together
through a series of recorded interviews with those people who knew her
well or hardly at all -- parents, colleagues, teachers, friends,
acquaintances, her ex-husband. The novel unravels Athena's mysterious
beginnings, via an orphanage in Romania, to a childhood in Beirut. When
war breaks out, her adoptive family move with her to London, where a
dramatic turn of events occurs! Athena, who has been dubbed 'the Witch
of Portobello' for her seeming powers of prophecy, disappears
dramatically, leaving those who knew her to solve the mystery of her
life and abrupt departure. Like The Alchemist, The Witch of Portobello
is the kind of story that will transform the way readers think about
love, passion, joy and sacrifice.

This is a story based on Athena, or Sherine Khalil (her name changes a few times throughout the course of the book). She is a woman who has never been afraid to explore the world, experience what it has to offer and search for a greater meaning in life. She was a restless soul, always keeping herself busy, learning new things and discovering hidden talents – in many ways, I related to her in that aspect. Sometimes I noticed my entire body scattered with goosebumps by just how much some of the paragraphs summarized who I am as a person up perfectly. It was awakening and yet spine-chilling all at once.

The thing that I found most interesting about this book was that you 'know' that Athena has been murdered in the beginning. The book works in chapters of other people's experiences with her, almost as if each character introduced into the story is being interviewed about her life. The concept was unique and fascinating!

*

Abandoned as a new born by her Gypsy mother, Athena was adopted and taken out of Romania by two loving parents in Beirut. They brought her up with a strong religious vocation – to the extent that she dreamed of becoming a saint one day. From a young age, Athena started having visions of a lady in white as well as having the ability to see things that have not yet occurred. As life progressed, Athena felt it was her mission to get married and have a baby – she strongly believed that was her purpose in this world. So she did just that and gave birth to a son. After his birth though, her marriage started to slowly take strain until her husband eventually left her. The church she visited religiously (haha) forbade her from receiving sacrament after her divorce as it was against their rules. This is when things spiral out of control for her and she sets off on a journey to find her birth mother in the gypsy community in Romania, hoping that it will help fill in the ‘blank spaces’ in her life.

Along her journey both in meeting her birth mother and her journey thereafter, Athena met many interesting souls that taught and guided her – slowly transforming her into who she needed to become.

Overall, an absolutely beautiful and riveting read filled with lessons and messages. A must read if you like Paulo Coehlo books or simply have a deeper understanding of the world that we live in. It is a wonderful concoction of magic and spirituality.

Sometimes, while I’m reading a book I find quotes, quips and messages hidden in the writing. I make small notes and highlight certain areas of the book. I have included a few photographs of things that stood out to me in this book – on every page there was something beautiful to be said; something incredible to digest.

I'll end today's post with this...

Have you ever read Paulo Coehlo's biography?? It is incredible - the things he had to go through in his life are both inspiring and at the same time, heart-wrenching.

He is an incredible man and deserves so much praise for what he has produced - he stuck to his passion no matter what. As should we.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

When you get dressed in the morning for work or dressed for a night out – does perfume play a role in how you feel?

Personally, perfume puts me on an entirely different level of self-confidence. That might be strange to admit, but it is true. When you smell nice, it is an automatic addition to your energy, confidence and outfit. Different perfumes match different occasions.

For instance… my every day perfume that I have adored for years is Dolce and Gabbana – The One. Nothing quite beats how this perfume makes me feel.

It is a zesty combination of quite a few of my favorite things, which explains why I like it as much as I do. It contains Madonna Lily, Mandarin and a hint of juicy Peach all enveloped into a rich vanilla and oriental floral scent that lingers on your skin for hours. It is so feminine and soft - yet oozes out a strength and confidence that just states the obvious, this perfume really is The One!

Then, the other day, I decided to spoil myself.
One thing I have always dreamed about owning is anything by Jimmy Choo… but I never allowed myself to buy the shoes because I am far too clumsy and would literally die if I scuffed Jimmy Choo heels on the first day of purchasing them (and I wouldn’t put it past me to do so either!).
That is why, when I saw this glittering box in the perfume section of Dischem the other day, I couldn’t resist.

The Jimmy Choo perfume is far cheaper than I would have expected it to be and more subtle than Dolce and Gabbana - The One. They are two very different scents – yet I adore them both.

Flash by Jimmy Choo is filled with citrus and spicy contrasts as well as refreshing tones of cucumber and mild jasmine.
It is a light perfume and for Jimmy Choo I must admit that I was expecting a bit more 'va-va-voom' from them but I do enjoy this fragrance a lot.
It changes overtime, starting out as a very sweet and fruity fragrance which I wasn't too fond of at first. I actually sprayed it on in the shop, then walked away to do the rest of my shopping before deciding that it was actually quite nice. It slowly turns into a more powdery, subtle scent as it settles on your skin.

It doesn't linger on the skin as long as my Dolce and Gabbana perfume does which was a disappointment.
I'm not sure if I'd rush to buy this specific Jimmy Choo perfume again but that's not to say that I won't still hold high hopes to find something in their fragrance range that I might enjoy more.

Lastly… this bottle has a beautiful story to tell:

Boucheron was the first ever perfume that my dad bought my mum!

My mum had given me the half-used bottle when I turned 18, after I'd always sneak into her closet to spray a little bit on from time to time. How I thought she wouldn’t be aware that I was doing so, I have no idea.

I loved this perfume so much until I had used nearly every last drop. Now, six years later, there is ONE drop (literally) left in the bottle and throughout all of these years it is the one perfume that I have saved and promised myself I would wear on my wedding day - not only because it is so divine and classy but also because of the story behind it being the first perfume my dad ever bought my mum. It is special to me and my family.

While my mum and I were exploring the perfume boutique my mum stumbled across this perfume and went wild! We had thought that the range had been discontinued years ago because we hadn't seen it around for so long! Needless to say, we did buy one bottle, especially after the shop assistant told us that is really was being discontinued now.

It was incredibly expensive but because of what it means to us, we would have paid any price to snag one of the last bottles available.

Although we now have a brand new bottle filled with this divine fragrance, it is still one that personally, I will only wear on extremely special occasions.

Boucheron is another floral based fragrance with jasmine, orange and citrus undertones as well as sandalwood, amber and vanilla.
It is wonderfully powdery and lasts for hours. It has been recommended for evening wear.

It's pretty safe to say that the floral and citrus scent is definitely one that I seem to lean more towards without even knowing it!

So there you have it - these are the three perfumes in my life at the moment.

I am extremely picky when it comes to perfume and have only enjoyed a few other specific fragrances in the past... and they are:

Monday, April 7, 2014

"Yesterday when you left the house, you forgot your handbag. You went back to find it and discovered that you'd locked yourself out and couldn't get in. You wasted a whole hour looking for a locksmith, when you could have kept the appointment you'd made, met the man who was waiting for you and got the job you wanted. But if everything had happened as you planned that morning, in six months time you would have died in a car accident. Forgetting your handbag yesterday changed your life."

*

That was taken from a chapter in Paulo Coehlo's incredible book, 'The Witch of Portobello'.

I am almost finished reading it but I couldn't wait to share that little snippet with you.

Everything in life happens for a reason.
The traffic light turning red as you approach it steers you in a completely different direction to what you would have experienced should the light have stayed green.
You will see different people, different cars and different happenings...

Have you ever seen the film The Adjustment Bureau? It is one of my favorites. I adore the concept of how life could be mapped out for you yet with one simple tweak, everything in your life can change.

Total Pageviews

GOODREADS

This is a book targeted more towards a younger reader. Slammed wasn't as mature as Coho's other books and it didn't pack a punch like her other novels do either... not for me, anyway. The writing wasn't as good as the 10 other books I ha...

In 'Too Late' our main character is Sloan, a college student forced to stay in a toxic relationship with the biggest drug dealer on campus, Asa, in order to give her special-needs brother the best life possible.
When Carter shows up in...

This is the companion novel to Hopeless by Colleen Hoover. It is told from Dean Holder's perspective - following his journey of dealing with his twin sisters suicide and finding Hope, his childhood friend who was abducted 13 years ago.
...

Being compared to The Girl on the Train was bound to happen in Hawkins second stand-alone thriller... while there are many familiarities such as the high level of mystery and eeriness throughout the book, Into the Water is entirely diffe...

Highschool sweethearts, Silas and Charlie have forgotten everything. Who they are, where they're from. Everything. This is where the story begins.
It is an extremely intriguing story of their discoveries of themselves and of the lives ...